Springboks player ratings: Malcolm Marx spearheads ‘sheer massacre’ as Ireland choked into submission
Following the Springboks’ 24-13 victory over Ireland in Dublin, here’s how we rated Rassie Erasmus’ charges.
Springboks player ratings
15 Damian Willemse: Safe as houses under the high ball and took his try sensationally. A rock at the back and sprinkled in some great moments on attack. 7
14 Canan Moodie: Battled away well under the high ball, but today was a day for scrums and forward work, meaning that he didn’t have too much to do. Still, a solid outing. 7
13 Jesse Kriel: Again, the experienced springboks centre made good decisions on both sides of the ball and worked well in tandem with Damian de Allende. Shut down threatening Irish attacks; there weren’t many, though. 6
12 Damian de Allende: The battering ram in the Springboks backline as he punched into the Irish defence time and time again. He made the initial break leading to Willemse’s try and was strong throughout the game. Understated shift but an important one. 7
11 Cheslin Kolbe: Moments of brilliance littered throughout his performance, including a charge down on James Lowe and a kick through that caused havoc, only for Jack Crowley to save the day. He had good and bad moments under the high ball, but overall, a decent outing from the winger. 7
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: He was lucky not to be sent to the sidelines for an ugly-looking tackle, but the young fly-half made the most of his luck and ran in yet another try as he remains unbeaten when starting at 10 in Green and Gold. It was far from a perfect performance, highlighted by his wasteful kick in the ninth minute, but again, he proved his class as one of the best young talents in the world. 7
9 Cobus Reinach: A day for the forwards as the Bok pack dominated proceedings with the veteran scrum-half smartly controlling things at the back. He box-kicked well, and when the moment arose to strike, he took it, running in a try himself and creating another for his half-back partner. 8
The forwards
8 Jasper Wiese: Another bruising and effective performance from the powerhouse number eight. He got his pass to Ruan Nortje wrong, which denied a try for Boan Venter, and he was caught unawares as Dan Sheehan snuck over the line. However, it was still a hugely influential shift from the back-rower. 8
6 Siya Kolisi (c): A tireless 60-minute performance from the Springboks skipper who finally played into the second half before making way for Andre Esterhuizen. Got involved with plenty on both sides of the ball. 7
5 Ruan Nortje: Like Du Toit, he just quietly goes about his work and runs around like a madman. He ran the lineout well in the absence of Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert and has cemented himself as a regular in the Bok squad going forward. 7
4 Eben Etzebeth: Put pressure on the Irish lineout with some brilliant contesting and won a fantastic steal in the 17th minute. He didn’t get the timing of his charge-down attempts on Jamison Gibson-Park right. Still effective defensively and made a handful of strong tackles. 7
3 Thomas du Toit: A cracking turnover in the seventh minute set the tone for Du Toit’s dominant shift. He monstered Andrew Porter in every single scrum, was handy in defence and accurate at the breakdown. Tactically hooked just before half-time, a masterstroke from the Bok staff as a fresh Wilco Louw eked out another penalty and led to Porter’s yellow card. Du Toit softened the body; Louw landed the killer blow. 8
2 Malcolm Marx: Crowned the World Rugby Player of the Year after picking up the Man of the Match Award today. The lineouts did falter somewhat in the latter stages of the game but for the most part they were accurate. At the breakdown, he was immense and the same applies to his scrum work. The kind of performance where he proved his pedigree in what has been a massive year for him personally. Today, he was the focal point of the sheer massacre of the Irish pack. 9
1 Boan Venter: Also hooked before half time, but not because he was struggling with the tempo, as he was against France. No, Venter was bossing Tadhg Furlong in the scrums and was effective around the park. He made a massive clear-out and did well to force his way over the line, but that score was scratched off for a forward pass in the build-up. A real breakout year for the prop who was a shock call-up earlier this year. Capped it all off with arguably his best shift in Green and Gold. 8
Replacements: The Springboks suffocated and choked Ireland into submission, setting up camp inside the Irish 22 and ordered scrum after scrum. The likes of Gerhard Steenekamp and Louw continued the fine work of the starters while Kwagga Smith was sublime once again. However, the ruthless edge was missing, meaning that South Africa won by 11 points, which was not a true reflection of their dominance. The Bomb Squad submitted the Irish but didn’t blow them away. 6
